Rail anchor



June 17, 1930. c. G. ERICSON 4,

- RAIL ANCHOR Filed June 24, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1.5 ATTORNEY INVENTOR' ym v Patented June 17, 1935 warren STATES PAT CHARLES G. ERICSON, OF TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA RAIL ANCHOR Application filed. June 24,

This invention relates to rail anchors for preventing the longitudinal creeping of rails, and more particularly to rail anchors of the one pieee type adapted to be forced into gripping engagement with the rail.

Resilient or flexible rail anchors of the 011epiece type have been extensively used heretofore, and in many of these prior constructions jaws or projections are provided at the opposite ends of the rail anchor to extend over the edges of the rail base flange, but when overhanging jaws are provided at the opposite ends of the rail anchor for engagement with the upper face of the rail base, the rail anchor is more or less difficult to apply to the rail, and it is likely to be subjected to excessive strains during its application to the rail, and which excessive strains continue unvaryingly when the device is in its operating position.

In the one-piece flexible or resilient rail anchor employed heretofore, difficulty, has also been experienced in developing a construction which will not move lengthwise of the rail when subjected to a normal or aver age load thrust but which is capable of gradually increasing its grip on the rail under an exceptionally strong load thrust to relieve the rail anchor from destructive stresses.

The present invention seeks to overcome the above mentioneddifficulties and relates to a one-piece rail anchor having a shank adapted to extend transversely of the rail in engagement with the lower face of the rail, and provided at one end with one or more overhanging jaws adapted to firmly grip the upper face ofthe rail base flange and provided at its opposite end with a laterally extending slightly resilient arm adapted tobe forced 0 into firm abutting engagement with an edge of the rail in non-overhanging relation therewith. T

A more specific feature of the invention resides in the construction of the laterally eX- tending arm whereby a side face of the arm is positioned to abut against the rail edge and is connected to the shank of the rail anchor by a curved or arcuate-portion.

The above and other features of the invention and novel arrangement of parts will be 1929. Serial No. 373,107.

best understood from the following descrip- I Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through the base of the rail of Fig. 1 and shows the rail anchor of Fig. 1 in gripping engagement with the rail;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a modified type of rail anchor;

Fig. 5 is a top plan View of a further modification of a rail anchor;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of still a further modified form of rail anchor embodying the features of the present invention; and

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the jaws of Fig.

-The rail anchor of the present invention is shown as applied to a rail of well known construction and consisting of the wheel en gaging portion 10 and base 11 which is con nected to the wheel engaging portion 10 by the centrally disposed, upstanding web 12.

and the base 11 is provided with the usual inclined upper faces 13and withthe vertical ledges 14 at the opposite sides of the rail ase.

In the various embodiments of the invention illustrated in the drawings the rail anchor is shown as formed entirely of sheet metal, but it will be apparent that the same may be forged or otherwiseconstructed.

Referring first to the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the rail anchor consists of a shank 15 adapted to extend across the under face of the rail and the upper edge 16 of this shank is constructed to rest firmly-against the under face of the rail base. The rail anchor, in accordance with the present invention, is provided at one end with one or more overhanging aws adapted to engage the upper face 13 of the rail base flange, two of these overhanging jaws are in u shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive and in Figs.

5 and 6, while three overhanging jaws. are shown in the modlfied construction of Fig.4.

lVhilethe overhanging jaw or jaws. just mentioned forholding the upper edge 16 of the shank firmly against the under face of the rail Constitutes an essentialpart of the v present railanchor, as above pointed out the present invention relates more particularly to theconstruction of the laterally extending slightly resilient arm 17 provided atthe 0pposite end of the shank 15, and adaptedto be sprung or forced into abutting engagement with the edge 14 of the-rail; It-is eontemplat ed that this resilient arm may be given various constructions, some of which are suggested in the different. views of the drawings, and the Construction of'the rail anchor of the present invention is such that when the rail anchor is secured to a rail the shank 15w1ll extend 7 across the under faces "of the rail base at either right angles to the longitudinal. axis of the rail, or atfia slight inclination to such longitudinal aXis in positiont'o causea face v will'be apparent froniFig. 01

of'the shank to abut firnil-y'ag'ainst the tie 18,

The slightly resilient arm 17 in its various constructions extends laterally from. the shank 15 in the direction of the (in-coming trafiic,.as will be apparent from'Fig. 1 oft-he drawing, in which the direction of the traflic is indicated by the arrow. The'arra'ngenient is'such' that the pressure ofithe rall anchor againstthe tie will .tend to slide theport ion of the 17abuttingagainst the rail edge 14': lengthwise of the rail in a direction to increasethe gripping action of therail'anchor on the rail. 1 T

In the embodiment of the invention shown iii Figs. 1', Q'and 30f the drawings, the laterally extending arm 17 is'givcn the construction shown by ebending the'right-hand' end portion ofthe blankw forming the rail anchor laterally of'the shanklfi inzthe form of a loop and'byibending the end portion "of this arm back upon itself sothat the outer side .face

,of'the arm 17 is positioned to abut against the rail'ed 'e "14; as b'estshown in Fig. As

7 aresult offhis construction a relatively wide portionit-l of the arm '17 abuts against the railedge, and this portion of the arm 17 v arcferabl extendsu war-(lb sufficient dis tance above the edge16 of the'rail anchor shank to engagefpracticallyfhe entire vertiherail base, as will beappar- This construction is convenat' oneend of the railflengaging" sur sure upon the shank 15 for maintaining- 1 anchoifl shall clear 'tl chor away,

rail, this shoulder will lie in slightly spaced relation to the vertical rail edge 14, it being contemplated that the shoulder 20 will be. moved into abutting engagement with the railedge 1 1 only when the rail anchor is subjected to a retrograde movement which'shifts the rail anchor, diagonally of. the rail to an increasediinclination from that in which it is shown in Fig. 3 0f the drawing. f In carrying out the present invention it is contemplat ed that the slightly resilient, laterally extending arm 17 will be heldgin abutting engagement with the edge 1410f the rail by the inherent resiliency; of the metal forming the rail anchor,and also by the overhanging jaw or jaws provided at the opposite end ofithe rail anchor and acting through the shank 15,

to maintain the parts in'thje position shown in Fig. 1. As above stated it is contemplated that the overhanging jaw orjaws' may' variously constructed so"'lo'ng" as they are adapted to extend inwardly a substantial distance over the rail base flange to engage the upper inclined face of this flange at. a point relatively near the vertical. centralw'eb 12 to thereby exert pronouncedupward pres- 'ts upper edge 16 firmly against the rail base.

7 V In the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1', 2 and 8, theoverhangingjaws are formed by'inc-reasing the widthor heightiof the rail anchor blankat the left-handend pertion thereof and by forming deep undercut in this relatively wide portion of the blank to provide a clearance space adapted to receive a portion of the 'rail ba'se flange, as will be a 3 Jarent from Fig.2. Throu 'h this con structi on the overhanging'jaw'21 which is disposed. directly over the shank 15 is; provided, and the flange engaging face 22' of thisjawis preferably inclined slightly to the face 13of the rail base flange,as will be apparent from Fig. 2, the construction being such that when the rail anchor is forced transversely 'o'fthe rail into grlpping engagement with the rail baseflange, the inner end portion of the 121W 21 will engage the upper face 13 of the frail base',.and, as this jaw 21 springs upwardly slightly under a pronounced flange gripping force, the inclinausual the under-face of thejaw 21 will tend to accommodate itself to'the inclination of 1 he upper face 13 of the "rail; base flange. This jaw construction insures engagement of the jaw" with the inclinedsurface.13, ate. W

point -w ll inwardly froin ariedgel l .of'the rail base flangeii ltiis desirable that the rail 7 ed'g 1450f the rail so ng aw 21 may bemo'ved V j with jthefrail. bas'e'flange', and 1S, 'a'cco pas desired clearance space for therailedge.

'intoi firmil' gripping-v cutting the rail fanas'inoicatedby'23, to formathe 1 i T in "manyicases a my bedesirablea) ie vide more than one overhanging jaw to thereby increase the gripping engagement of the rail anchor with the rail base, and in the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2 and-3, a second jaw 24 is provided by bending the end portion of the overhanging metal of the rail anchor back upon itself, as will be apparent from Fig. 3, to form the auxiliary jaw 2% which is connected to the first jaw 21 by the arcuate portion 25,.and the lower face of the jaw 2% is constructed so that it normally lies slightly below the face 22 of the aw 21. This will cause the jaw 24. to be subjected to a tortional twist as it is forced into engagement with the rail base flange. This jaw 24 will obviously be more resilient than the jaw 21 and the auxiliary aw may therefore spring upwardly slightly to accommodate itself to the configuration of the base flange, while at the same time exert a firm downward pressure upon the upper face of the rail flange. The jaw 24:, it should be noted, is offset from the shank of the rail anchor away from the on-coming traffic in a direction to extend over the tie 18, and as a result of this location of the jaw 24 it will oppose any tendency of the shank 15 to rock about its longitudinal upper surface 16 under the tie pressure exerted upon the face of the shank 15.

In the modified construction shown in Fig. -1- of the drawing the arcuate arm 17 is so constructed that its outer end portion 26 is bent inwardly to abut against the inner curved surface 27 of the arcuate arm to increase the rigidity of the entire arm and a curved intermediate portion 28 of the arcuate arm abuts against the rail edge. The opposite end of the rail anchor disclosed in Fig. lis shown as provided with three overhanging jaws; the jaws 21 and 24 of this modified construction may be formed as above descibed. The third jaw 29 is conveniently formed by increasing the length of the lefthand' end portion of the rail anchor far enough to provide the portion 30 which may be bent so that it willextend inwardly towards the central web 12 of the rail as shown, and in the edge of this inwardly bent portion 30 is formed. a cut or recess as shown in Fig. 7 to receive an edge portion of the rail base flange and adapted'to provide the over li-aingin "aw 29 for eiiqagin the rail base V o e *1 mange in lateral spaced relation to the jaw 21. While in some cases it may be desirable to rovide the rail anchor of F1". 4 with three overhanging aws as shown, this is not an essential feature of the present invention, and if desired either of the aws 24 or 29 may be omitted, or if desired both of these jaws may be omitted.

In the modified type of rail anchor shown in Fig. 5 the laterally extending arm17 is produced by bending the same to form the intermediate arcuate portion having a laterally extending end portion. 31 that projects away i from the rail anchor shank 15 and the inner face of this arm 17 is positioned to abut against the edge 1d of the rail. The opposite end of the rail anchor of Fig. 5 is shown as provided with two jaws 21 and 29, the jaw 24 of Figs. 1 to 1 inclusive being omitted. In the modified construction shown in Fig. 6 the laterally extending arm 17 is formed substantially the same as the laterally extending arm 17 of Fig. 5, except that the arcuate portion of the arm of I F i-g. 6 is bent or looped to a less degree than in Fig. 5, so that the end portion 83 of the laterally extending arm of .Fi g. 6 is dis posed further from the shank 15 thanin the construction shown in Fig. 5. In this construction, as in Fig. 5, a side face 34 of the arm 17 is positioned to abut against .therail edge 14. The opposite end of the rail anchor of Fig. 6'is shown as provided with the'overhanging jaws 21and 24 which may be constructed similarly to the correspondingly numbered jaws of Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive.

In Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive the upstanding shoulder 20 is preferably disposed in spaced relation to the rail edge so that it is normally inactive, but as above stated may be forced into engagement with the rail edge when the rail anchor is shifted to a pronounced degree diagonally of the rail. In the modified construction shown in Fig. 6 a'slioulder 35 is positioned a greater distance from the edge of the rail and is not intended to engage the edge of the rail under any condition, but is formed in cutting or shaping the laterally extending arm so that the upper portion of the arm will extend upwardly above the upper surface 16 of the shank far enough to provide a side face 34 of relatively large area which will abu against the rail edge 14. V

- In each of the embodiments. shown the rail anchor be secured to a railbaseby mov ing the rail anchor by hand into position in which the overhanging jaw or jaws engage the upper face of the rail. base, and by then striking upon the left-handeiid of the rail anchor with a spike mawl or the like, to force the rail anchor transversely of the rail far enough to'permit the inner face of the arcuate arm 17 to spring upwardly into engagement arm 17 into abutting engagement withthe railedge may be assisted through the use of a suitable tool which maybe engaged with the arcuate arm to assistin springing it outwardly far enough to clearthe under face of the rail base to permit the arm to spring upwardly into abutting engagement with the ail edge as shown. 7

t is contemplated that ineach of the emmovement of the inner face of the arcuate bodiinents j of the invention shown; when a rail anchor 1s apphed to a rail in service pos1- tfiongthe laterally extending arm WlllEXQlt a continuous spring-pressure upon the edge of:

the rail to maintain'the anchor in grip ping engagement wlth therall base, which W ll serve to prevent the ra l anchor from moving'lengthwise of the rail under normal or averageload thrust, but when thejrail-anchor is sub ected to a load thrust of' excepti'onal magnitude, the edge engaglng sur fa'ce of the arm 17' may change position slightly relative'to the rail'to'canse the rail anchor to increase its gripping engagement upon the rail base.

lVhen it isdesired to remove the rail anchor of the present inventioni'rorn a rail, this is readily accomplished by striking down j upon the upper face of the laterally extend,

ing arm 17 to force this arm downwardly into engagement with'the under taceot the rail ',whereupon'tl1e rail anchor may be removed from the rail by forcing it laterally of the ra l in a direction to d sengage its overhanglng awsrtrom the rail base flange; 7

- What is claimed is 1. Acne-piece rail anchor consisting of a shank adapted to extend across the i'ail base to'abut against a tie and; providedat one end with an overhanging aw adapted to extend inwardly a substantial distance over the rail base flange fengage' the u pper face thereof to hold the'shankfirmly against the under face of the rail, an'dan arcuate a'rniat the opposite end of said shank extending lengthwise of the rail 1n the d rection "of the .on-coming" trafiic and having a side face adapted to be sprung into} abutting engage. ment with the. rail edge and disposed in its entirety at one side of the shank.

:2. Alone-piece rail anchor eonsisting of a shankadapted to extend across the rail base and provided at one end with an overhanging jaw adapted to engage the upper-inelined face of the base flange at a substantial dist from the edge thereof toihold the shank against the under face of the rail; sea; an a V arcuate arm at the other end of the shank ex c tendinglengthwiseoftherailin the direct on of the'on-coi'ning traffic and havlnga sideii ace dis .osed in its entirety at one ide of the- 1 l shank'andadapted to abut against '1 e edge 'o'f'th'e' rail and. to bel V from moving downward ld there an. w utf with saidqedg'eby said Jaw act n the shank. T

i 3. Ao 1-.eieegr i 1 anchor consisting of a w shank adapted to extend across the rail. base to abut against a tie and providec atone end with an. verhangingjaw adaptedto ex tend inwardly-a ubsta'ntialdistance over the rail base flange and engage chea es facethereof 7 to hold the shank firmly against "the under face of the rail, anda-latera'lly bent arni at r a the opposite t end of-said shank extending reverselygbent "portion the outer side 'nly A: A railanchor consisting of shank adapted to-extend across'the rail base and provided at one end with an overhanging jaw adapted to engagegthe upper inclined face of the base flange at a substantial distance from the edge thereof to hold theshank firmly aga nst the-under face of the rail, and. a loop-- shapedarm at the other endofthe shank ex tending lengthwise of the rail and tormec so that its: outer side tace'is bent; to abut against the edge of the railbase flange'and is held thereaga-inst by the jaw and'shank;

5. A rail anchor consisting of a shank adapted to extend acrossthe rail base and provided'at vone end with'an, overhanging jaw adapted to engage the upper inclined face oi the base flange at a substantialdistance from theiedge' thereof to hold the shank firmly against the under face of the rail, and an arm extendingtrom the oppositeend of the shank in the directionotthe on-coining' traffic and having'an arcuate portion and a straight Pertion ari'angedso that a side face of the latter disposed 1n lts entirety atone side of the I shank abuts -against the edge ofthe rail and r is held thereagainst by the aw and arm.

6. 1%. one-piece rail anchor consisting of as shank adaptedto extend across therailbase V "to' abut against a tie andprovided at one end with an overhanging jaw adapted to extend inwardly a substantial distance over the ra l basetlange and engage the upper face there'ei to'h'old the shank with its upperedge firmly agai-nst'the under faceoi the rail, and mail at theopposite'end' otthe shank extend therefrom"lengthwise of the rail and ham s of which abuts against'the edge of the rail flange base an d is held thereagainst by the aw and shank. j a r l '7 In testimony whereof, I" have signed my nameto this"speciil ":ation.

enem es e.- ERICSGN. 

